Content in the Web 2.0 World

What is Web 2.0 and consumer generated media? How is the demand for interactivity affecting content? These questions are addressed in this insightful article on what is now occurring on the web.

Web 2.0 was present in spirit, if not name, when the CEO of a
company for whom we are developing a web strategy asked in the project
kick off meeting what we thought of blogs. He had learned to integrate
blogs into his public relations strategy due to issues created by a few
high profile bloggers in his industry. Now he wanted to understand how
to make them part of his business, always a sign that technology is
entering the corporate mainstream. But while he had encountered the
power of blogs — a key Web 2.0 technology — he had never heard the term
Web 2.0.

His knowledge of and interest in one of the interactive
technologies at the core of Web 2.0, but not the concept itself, puts
him in a club that is far from exclusive. But an increasing number of
companies are learning how to thrive in the new online environment, and
are doing so by developing:

An understanding for Web 2.0, especially its emphasis on deep
respect for data and interactivity.

A realistic assessment of how well they are managing content now,
and coming to terms with another Web 2.0 concept: Consumer Generated
Media (CGM).

What is Web 2.0?

Coined by O’Reilly Media, Web 2.0 refers to websites, products
or services that are highly interactive, deep in dynamic data and
harness collective intelligence. However, given that its proponents
can’t fully define it, we shouldn’t be surprised by its failure to
enter common business parlance.
In Tim O’Reilly’s comprehensive discussion about what is Web 2.0,
he admits that there is “a huge amount of disagreement about just what
Web 2.0 means, with some people decrying it as a meaningless marketing
buzzword, and other accepting it as the new conventional wisdom.”

With more than 9.5 million citations in Google, Web 2.0 is clearly
generating tremendous interest online, and with Google itself providing
a high profile, Web 2.0 success story it is a topic that must be taken
seriously by anyone managing a web strategy. O’Reilly provides a
contrast between Netscape and Google to help demonstrate the difference
between Web 1.0 and 2.0:

Netscape attempted to develop a “webtop” to replace the desktop,
populate it with information updates and then try to sell Netscape
servers. When web browsers and servers turned into commodities, value
moved to services delivered over the web platform and Netscape
collapsed.

Google requires a competency that Netscape did not have: managing
a specialized database. As a result: “Google happens in the space
between browser and search engine and destination content server, as an
enabler or middleman between the user and his or her online
experience.”

Blogging and the advent of CGM

As the term suggests, Web 2.0 is a vast topic, one that
encompasses virtually everything to do with the web. Because it has a
significant impact on content, which is king on the web, it’s
especially important for anyone who is making the creation and
dissemination of information a key part of their business. As a result,
the topic provides a useful entry point to understanding Web 2.0.

CGM
has been gaining a lot of attention online, with blogs providing a high
profile example of the impact it delivers: Technorati monitors more than 30
million blogs, with almost four million updated with new content at
least once a week. Beyond this attention-grabbing growth, however,
O’Reilly argues that blogs are more significant because they
demonstrate the importance of harnessing collective intelligence, one
of the core competencies of Web 2.0:

If an essential part of Web 2.0 is harnessing collective
intelligence, turning the web into a kind of global brain, the
blogosphere is the equivalent of constant mental chatter in the
forebrain, the voice we hear in our heads. It may not reflect the deep
structure of the brain, which is often unconscious, but is instead the
equivalent of conscious thought. And as a reflection of conscious
thought and attention, the blogosphere has begun to have a powerful
effect.

Given these statistics about blog growth, and the important role
they play in shaping a core competency of Web 2.0, it’s obvious why
many companies are assessing their business impact. Many assume that
harnessing this collective power involves determining how best to
incorporate consumer generated media (CGM) into their web strategies.
According to Pete
Blackshaw from Nielsen Buzzmetrics:

“[CGM] is often inspired by relevant product or service
experiences and is frequently archived online for readers’ convenience
and other consumers or key marketplace influencers. Examples of CGM
include blog entries, consumer e-mail feedback, message board posts,
forum comments, personal Web sites, and personal e-mail. My company
estimates over 1.4 billion CGM comments are archived on the Web today.
That number is growing 30 percent annually. None of this is terribly
surprising when you consider the Pew Internet & American Life Project estimates
44 percent of online consumers have created online ‘content’.”

The interactive component of CGM is vital for media companies.
Yahoo, for example, has integrated it into their business plan by
investing millions to acquire Web 2.0 poster children such as Flickr, the Vancouver-based
photo-sharing site.

For other companies, however, consumers don’t want the content to
be interactive, or to author it. They simply want it to be up-to-date,
relevant and easy to find:

65% of website visitors give up before they find what they came
for and 40% of users who abandon a website never come back (Boston
Consulting Group).

Less than 10% of users will contact a supplier whose website does
not provide detailed product and service information (2004 Content
Solutions User Needs Research Study).

Managing Content

Due to the complexities of managing content, too few organizations
have implemented an effective content management plan. Therefore, an
essential first step when preparing your content for the Web 2.0 world
is conducting research regarding your audience’s perception of your
content quality. There’s a good chance your customers will say they
want more access to the knowledge locked within your organization, not
to the thoughts of their peers.

The research might also reveal that your content provides an
important online asset. For example, during one focus group for a
client, a participant told us that: “On the Internet, you don’t know
what to trust. With ABC Company you know you can trust the
information.” Clearly, for this organization, taking the important task
of preparing highly factual information out of the hands of its
knowledgeable staff would have been a counterproductive business
strategy.

Data-driven content management

Once you’ve asked your customers how you could improve your
content, and put a plan in place to continuously exceed their
expectations, you can begin constantly refining your content based on
an analysis of their content requirements. This task is easy to
accomplish by using advanced analytical software and clickstream
analysis.

Not only does this data provide rich insights into what content
your customers require the most, it will also make you a Web 2.0
player. According to O’Reilly: “Real time monitoring of user behaviour
to see just which features are used, and how they are used, thus
becomes another required core competency.”

HealthyOntario, the
site that Prescient Digital Media manages for the Government of
Ontario, provides a good example of how to take incremental steps
toward preparing content to be maximized in the Web 2.0 world:

Prior to site launch, extensive research determined what topics
would be of highest interest to its audience. This data provided a
strong foundation for a thorough content management plan which supports
the daily posting of rigorously accurate information.

The site editor monitors searches and page views to determine
popular content features, which supports the “hot topics” on the
homepage and suggests new editorial ideas. Of course, the editor still
uses his knowledge of seasonal health concerns and monitoring of daily
media coverage to anticipate content of interest to the site’s
audience.

This data-driven approach to creating content, supported by a plan
designed to post accurate information within hours, leaves the site
well positioned to increase its interactivity as required.

Can your business benefit from consumer content?

Aside from entrepreneurs seeking to develop new Web 2.0 business
models, or media companies assessing acquisition targets, the business
benefits of using CGM to increase the interactivity of information is
hard to determine. But benefits do exist, provided there’s a clear
opportunity for the consumer to add value to your existing
content.

Tourism example

For example, one would be hard pressed to find a better
win-win-win relationship between consumers, an industry and technology
than the travel market post-Internet adoption. The
Financial Times reported that despite tremendous challenges, the
U.S. Internet travel industry grew from US$5 billion in sales in 1999
to US$20 billion in 2003, a number that is still growing
dramatically.

A quick examination suggests that the Internet and travel are
nearly as good a combination as a pina colada and a palm tree:

Information intensive: Tourism is an information intensive
industry. The Internet provides technology that enables constant
up-dating of information based on customer input, changes in product
availability and pricing.

Comparisons and Immediacy: Tourists cannot really assess
the quality of the products or services they are buying until they
arrive at their destination. Trust and proof statements are critical
for delivering the comfort level required to commit an often
significant percentage of household income to a purchase. The Internet
delivers technology that makes it easy to compare choices, delivers
immediate confirmation and documentation of reservations and builds a
relationship between the buyer and seller.

Tourism best practice

Because this is an industry that has led the way in developing
strong content to support its business, travel sites are extremely well
positioned to buy into the interactive world of Web 2.0 and incorporate
CGM into their content plan. For example, Australia, which has an
outstanding website, enables visitors to submit their
tips and tales. Given the important role that anticipating a unique
experience plays in travel, real stories about actual trips provide a
strong complement to the rich content presented and maintained on the
site.

Clearly, the core competencies of Web 2.0—notably harnessing
collective intelligence and having a deep respect for data—are
benefiting numerous organizations, from Google to Tourism Australia.
But can they benefit your business? That will depend on how well you’re
managing your content now, and understanding how your consumers can add
to its value, which will vary depending on your business. What will be
a constant across all companies, however, is the need to watch the
evolution of Web 2.0 and the interactivity it fosters, and to keep
asking how your business can benefit from incorporating it.

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